Support for holding open the side members of automobile-hoods



H. DEITZ.

SUPPORT FOR HOLDING OPEN THE SIDE MEMBERS OF AUTOMOBILE HOODS.

APPLICATION FiLED SEPT. 5, I919. I

71,740. Patented Mar. 15, 1921 5 2 SH7ETSASHEETI ard? A TTOR/VEY H. DElTZ;

SUPPORT FOR HOLDING OPEN THE SIDE MEMBERS OF AUTOMOBILE HOODS.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT. 5. 1919.

1,37 1,740. Patented Mar. 15, 1921 2 SHEETSSHEET 2- N ,4 TTORNEY INVENTOR UNITED STATES HENRY DEITZ, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

'FFIQZE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 15 1921.

Application filed September 5, 1919. Serial No. 321,939.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, HENRY Dmrz, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city and county of Denver and. State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Supports for Holdin Open the Side Members of Autonrobile-Hbods, of which the following is a specification This invention relates to improvements in supports for holding open the side flaps or. members of automobile hoods.

The object of the invention is to provide supports or brackets which are adapted to be removably attached to sills upon which the side flaps of the hood rest, when the hood is closed, which supports are arranged to securely hold the said side flaps in a-raised position to permit a free circulation of air over and around the engine, thereby to prevent overheating of the same.

Further to provide resilient supports comprising base portions which are adapted to be held upon the aforesaid sills when placed thereon, and uprights which are provided with rests to receive the lower edges of the hood members, the said. uprights being adapted to engage theusual lifting handles of the hood members in such manner as to prevent the said members from being accidentally jarred or shaken out of their supporting rests. I

Further to provide a device of this character, which is simple in construction, that can be cheaply manufactured, and which is a thoroughly practical attachment for the purpose besides beingeasilyand quickly attached and detached, and requiring no separate fastening devices when in use.

These objects are accomplished by the device illustrate'd'in theaccompanying drawin s, in whichigure l is a side elevation showing'fth'e improved attachment secured upon the auto mobile frame in position to support one of the hood members in a raised or open posi tion.

2 is an end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the hood-supporting bracket.

Fig. 4 is a front view illustrating the-man ner in which the hood is supported in a raised or open position by the bracket, and the engagement of the, bracket members w th the lifting handle of the hood members, whereby displacement of the hood members from the bracket is prevented;

allel upri ht members 5 is a sideview of Fig. 4,'and

Fig. 6 is a plan View of'one of the sills upon which the'hood members of certain styles of automobiles rest when the hood is closed.

Under certain conditions, automobile engines become overheated to an extent which causes the water in the jacket surrounding the cylinders to boil, such a condition being due to various well known causes, such as lack of oil or grease for the parts requiring the same, and tight fitting pistons, together with the heat from the sun.

he over-heating of the engine, .in most cases, may be prevented by opening the hood and thus permitting a free circulation of cool air over and around the engine. Holding the hood open has heretofore generally been accomplished .by make-shift means, with very unsatisfactory results, but the present invention meets every requirement for the purpose intended, as will be hereinafter shown. j f

eferring to the accompanying drawings Thenumeral 1, indicates the side bars of the frame orrchassis of an automobileupon the forward ends of which is supported the I radiator 2, between which and the dashboard 3, is located the hood 4,. which incloses the engine and other parts, none of which are shown in the drawings, as they form no part of the presentinvention. The hoods, generally, comprise to'p'members o, which are hinged together in a well known manner, and also to'the dashboard and radiator, and side members 6, which are hinged at their upper edges to the top members, their lower edges restingon metal sills 7, which are secured upon theside bars 1. .These sills are employed in various types of automobile, and they also support the usual latches (not shown) for'holding. down the side members 6 of the hood. In some instances, these sills are slightlytapered, as shown in Fig. 7, and they are also made with parallels'ide edges, and the improved hood brackets or supports are'held upon thesesills in a manner to be presently described.

The bracket is-Inade preferably of stout resilient wire,.which is bent to provide par- 8, which terminate in eyes. 9, atthe r upper ends, the, eye on'the left hand upright being on the left side of the same, while the eye of the right hand upright is on the right side of. the same. These eyes form stops, the purpose of which zontal members 13, which each other and terminate in' v as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

will presently appear. About midway of the length of the uprightsthey areformed with racks or rests 10 by bending a short portion of the wire atan acute angle to the parts above and below it, the part above the rack being out of line with the part below the rack, as clearly shown in Figs. Fiend 5v The lower ends of the uprights terminate in parallel. horizontal members 11, which in turn are bent downward to form short verti cal members 12, terminating, in short horijextend toward vertical members 14, parallel with the members 12. The members 12, 13 and 14:, constitute hooks 15, which engage the outer edge of the sill 7, From each member 1 1, the wire is bent over to form parallel, horizontally disposed members 16, which are also parallel with the members 11, and which restupon the sills 7. The members 16, terminateiin short, verti cal, downwardly extending members 17, which in turn, terminate in short horizontal members 18, which are parallel with the members 16', and the members 18, are con nected by a horizontal member 19. The members 17, 1S and 19, form hooks 20, which engage the inner edges of, the sills 7, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. VVhenthe sills T are tapered, .as shown in Fig. 6, the hooks 20, are so bent as to present a correspondingly tapered space between themand the hooks 15, so that each of the vertical members 17, of each hook 20, shall engage the inner edgeof the sill, and in this case the brackets are formed as rights and lefts.

In attaching the brackets, to hold the side members of the hood up, the brackets are placed upon the narrowest portions of the sills with their hooks 20, engaging the inner edges of the sills, and extending under the said edges, as shown, and the hooks 15 extend over the outer edges thereof, and the brackets arethen slid to points midway of the length ,ofthe sills, when the hooks 15 and 20, will tightly engage the said edges. The side flaps 6, of the hood are provided with lifting handles 21, and the brackets, when in operative position are in line with these handles 21, and the side flaps .of the 1 hood are thereby lifted until the saidhandles are above the upper ends of the brackets. The upright members 8, of the bracle ets, are then pressed toward each other, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 4, so that the eyes 9, at the ends of the uprights, will pass through the handles, which are usually U- shaped in form. dropped to permit the eyes 9 to pass through the handles, when the lower edges of the flaps are caught and held by the racks 10,

which thus support the lower edges of the flaps a suitable distance above the sills 7.

The uprights 8 are then released, and they on said sills,

The side flaps are then spring out to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, in which position the eyes 9, extend out over the end portions of the handles 21, and thus prevent'the flaps from being jolted out of the supporting racks 10, as will be apparent by reference to the draw ings. The brackets are arranged to hold the flaps at'a height above the sills that will permit the air to circulate freelv around the engine, and thus preventoverheating of the same, and the engagement [of the eyes 9,

with the handles 21, not only serves to hold the lower edges of the-flaps in the racks 10,

but also prevents rattling of the flaps. The

brackets can not work loose on the sills 7, or become disconnected therefrom, owing to the character of the hooks 20, and the en'- gagement of the uprights .8, by the handles 21. To remove the brackets it is only neces sary to grasp the uprights and press them toward eachother, and lift the sidefiaps until the handles clear the eyes 9, then dis connect the brackets from the sills, drop the forengaging sai-dsills and uprights having supporting racks, and terminating in outwardly projecting eyes, said racks being adapted to receive the lower edges of the said side members when raised, said uprights being passed through said handles, their eyes extending over the end portions of said handles, whereby the side members are held against racks.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with an automobile frame having s ills thereon, and the hood having hinged side members which normally rest and which are provided with lifting handles, of brackets comprising hook members adapted to engage said sills, and resilient upright members provided with supporting rack portions to receive the lower edges of the sald side members when raised,

and termmating in outwardly projecting pressed toward displacement from the said sills thereon and the hood having positely projecting stops,

and are provided with lifting handles, of brackets constructed of resilient wire and bent to form hook portions adapted to be secured upon the edges of said sills, and upright members which terminate in opsaid members being bent intermediate of their lengths to form racks to receive the lower edges of said side members when they are raised, said uprights being passed through said handles under tension whereby, when freed, they spring outwardly, thus projecting their stops over the end portions of said handles.

4. In a device the combination with an automobile'frame having sills thereon, and the hood having hinged side members which rest on said sills and which arerprovided with U-shaped handles, of resilient wire brackets bent to provide base portions provided with hook members adapted to engage one of the edges and the under sides of said sills, and with hook members adapted to engage the other edges of said sills, and also bent to provide parallel uprights which terminate in oppositely extending stops, said uprights being bent at intermediate points to form supporting racks, said uprights being passed through said handles under tension, the

lower ends of said hood members resting in of the character described,

said racks, the stops being projected over the end portions tension on the uprights is released.

5. A bracket for the purpose specified, comprising a base portion provided with hook-like members, and uprights having intermediate supports, and terminating in oppositely extending stops.

6. A bracket for the purpose described, comprising a resilient wire structure bent to form parallel, horizontal base members, the closed end portion being bent down vertically and then horizontally in an inward direction to form a hook member, the parallel base members being then bent upon themselves to form U-shaped members, the closed ends of which are bent over at right angles to form hooks,;the remaining portions of the wire being then bent up at-right angles to form parallel, vertical uprights which terminate in oppositely projecting stops, said uprights being bent at intermediate points to form supporting racks.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. V

HENRY DEITZ. V Witnesses.

G. SARGENT ELLIoTT, ELIZABETH SMITH;

of the handles when the 

